Any chance of this LZ recovering?

[shaneatwell]

Planted a couple Mangos in the ground 18months ago. The NDM#4 died after a few months. The LZ started showing similar symptoms last summer. browning leaves tip dieback. Mostly from the top down. Didn't progress all winter and I just cut off a couple of the dead branches. There's a dark patch in the middle of the wood and when I cut down a couple more nodes it looks even worse. So I'm guessing fungal rot from the roots. Can it survive and flourish, or is it done? Is there any treatment?

[Mr. Clean]

How often are you watering your trees?  San Diego is a desert, so you need to water much more often than us in Florida.  Are you over-fertilizing?

[shaneatwell]

Very little watering in winter. Once every two weeks in summer. I have sandy clay and it doesn't entirely dry out between waterings.

As far as fertilizer, that area was over fertilized by virtue of amending it all when I built it 3yrs ago, i.e. working in a fairly rich compost/mulch mix. A mistake, but can't too do much about it now. Definitely have made a nice incubator for fungus. Otherwise I don't fertilize except for mulching (w/ spent mushroom compost) once a year.

[shaneatwell]

Starting to think that I introduced anthracnose myself by planting a dozen seeds, some from fruit I know I had black spots on them. Would really suck if I've ruined my chances of having Mango trees.

[Cookie Monster]

From what I understand, you california mango growers tend to have issues with phomopsis. Mango trees here adore fast draining sand. Can you create a raised bed that consists of coarse sand mixed with compost?

You should talk to the other CA growers. I know that's a common issue over there. There may be fungicides that help.

[JF]

From what I understand, you california mango growers tend to have issues with phomopsis. Mango trees here adore fast draining sand. Can you create a raised bed that consists of coarse sand mixed with compost?

You should talk to the other CA growers. I know that's a common issue over there. There may be fungicides that help.

that's correct we use manganese fertilizer but before you apply we must bring the pH down to neutral or below.

[sapote]

I called it "brown wood fungus" issue. This happened to me quite many times and it was not just my soil -- it happened when the plants still in pots from nursery. My conclusion about this problem is that the plants tend to got this when they are under stress. I found healthy and vigorous plants have more resistance to this issue. I mulch a lot around my plants and they are more healthier and have less problem. Plants bought from FL tend to have this problem growing in CA.

[shaneatwell]

Phomopsis is interesting. I'll check it out. I could definitely do a raised bed but I wonder if its wise to do over soil that I'm pretty sure is infiltrated.

I have mentioned my issues to a couple, but everyone I've talked to is successful I'll keep bringing it up. Maybe Simon will chime in.

Manganese? That inhibit phomopsis?

[sapote]

The only chance you might have is to cut off the trunk until no more brown wood, then cut off 4 to 6" below that to ensure completely free of fungus. 2 years ago I had one plant with this and after all of the cutting I only had about 3" left from the ground. The tree survived and completely recovers now. I coated the cut with fungicide and neem-oil a few times a week.

[shaneatwell]

The only chance you might have is to cut off the trunk until no more brown wood, then cut off 4 to 6" below that to ensure completely free of fungus. 2 years ago I had one plant with this and after all of the cutting I only had about 3" left from the ground. The tree survived and completely recovers now. I coated the cut with fungicide and neem-oil a few times a week.

Well that's a concrete recommendation! The graft is about 10 inches up, but I'll give it a shot.

[JF]

I called it "brown wood fungus" issue. This happened to me quite many times and it was not just my soil -- it happened when the plants still in pots from nursery. My conclusion about this problem is that the plants tend to got this when they are under stress. I found healthy and vigorous plants have more resistance to this issue. I mulch a lot around my plants and they are more healthier and have less problem. Plants bought from FL tend to have this problem growing in CA.

You can give it any name and conclude whatever you want sapote..... it's called phomopsis mangifera as Jeff pointed out educate yourself.

[MangoFang]

Bummer Shane.....the severe cut sounds like the only thing to do now....
I was thinking when I planted all my trees years ago about reconditioning the
soil with all kinds of amendments, but got lazy and didn't do it - threw in a shoveful
of composted steer manure but that was it.......lucky me I guess.....So now it's just
weak fertilizer and heavy mulching for my desert mangoes and that's it.....


Good luck......Gary

[simon_grow]

Hey Shane,

Sorry to hear about your dying Lemon Zest. Can you take a picture of the trunk of your tree including where the trunk meets the ground? Look up and down the trunk of your tree and see if you notice any cracking.

Here is some information I just found on organisms that can cause stem end rot in Mango:
http://www.actahort.org/books/321/321_112.htm

http://www.apsnet.org/publications/plantdisease/2009/July/Pages/93_7_764.1.aspx

It appears there are at least several organisms associated with stem end rot but I'm still not positive that exactly what it is. I was a microbiologist for four years and specialized in microbial genomics for another four years and without definitive DNA identification, I do not want to speculate on the possible organism.

Fungi and spores are ubiquitous in the garden environment but usually gain entry through a wound or because the tree is already diseased and weak.

Are any of your dying trees on Lavern Manilla rootstock? I can stop by your place some time to troubleshoot although I can't perform any microbial identifications because I work at a different company now.

Simon

[shaneatwell]

Great offer Simon. Would love to have you over.

Neither of the trees were on manilla, though I did have 6 seedlings growing from manilla-esque fruit. Didn't do much after the first 4 leaves. Could be unrelated though. Will definitely try more as soon as I can buy fruit.

Trees were never wounded, but were probably in transplant shock.

Will try to get pictures tomorrow.

[shaneatwell]

Here are some pictures. The whole tree:



Some sap leaking about halfway up the tree:




Cut out some of that spot and you can see the blackened wood is about 1/3rd in




I cut a piece out another couple nodes down, directly below that brown section and it was clean, so I think i'll chop it about there. And hit the whole thing w/ a fungacide.

[raimeiken]

lots of great info in this thread! This is what's happening to two of my trees in ground here in AZ. One LZ and the other Coconut cream. First few months were healthy, then around fall they stopped growing and started to show some sap oozing and the new growth turning black and die. I had to chop off a lot of the growth and been spraying with fungicide. Both are finally starting to push new growth and I hope they recover from this. New growth coming out of the main trunks are cracking and oozing a bit of sap.

[raimeiken]

From what I understand, you california mango growers tend to have issues with phomopsis. Mango trees here adore fast draining sand. Can you create a raised bed that consists of coarse sand mixed with compost?

You should talk to the other CA growers. I know that's a common issue over there. There may be fungicides that help.

that's correct we use manganese fertilizer but before you apply we must bring the pH down to neutral or below.

what's the manganese for exactly?

[JF]

Phomopsis is interesting. I'll check it out. I could definitely do a raised bed but I wonder if its wise to do over soil that I'm pretty sure is infiltrated.

I have mentioned my issues to a couple, but everyone I've talked to is successful I'll keep bringing it up. Maybe Simon will chime in.

Manganese? That inhibit phomopsis?

Yes or Azoxystrobin thats what UC riverside pathology lab, Richard Campbell  and Dr. Crane recommend according to our friend Peter.  I think Simon forgot the conversation we had with the owner of park hills orchards last summer. He took his dead mangos to UC Riverside pathology lab which confirm it a was case of necrotic mango tissue.

[Mark in Texas]

From what I understand, you california mango growers tend to have issues with phomopsis. Mango trees here adore fast draining sand. Can you create a raised bed that consists of coarse sand mixed with compost?

You should talk to the other CA growers. I know that's a common issue over there. There may be fungicides that help.

Damn!  Phomopsis, that may be what's toasting my Sharwil.    Have to spray for it in the vineyard.  I spray with Dithane (mancozeb) for phomopsis.  Captan, also a topical (not systemic) is a great control too and may be used close to harvest with no entry (into the vineyard, orchard) delay needed. 

Pristine (boscalid + pyraclostrobin), a systemic, is THE silver bullet for not only phomopsis but about everything that ails ya: anthracnose, black rot, downy mildew, powdery mildew, leaf blight, botrytis. It's expensive, worth splitting the cost with friends but a little goes a long way.

Hope this isn't hijacking the thread but I took this shot of my Oro Negro last year and the Sharwil has the same black spots.  With the ON it hasn't gone down into the green flesh.  It remains on the bark.  Is this phomopsis?



Don't forget the surfactant! 

[JF]

According to the owner of Park Hills Orchards azoxystrobin is the most effective way to deal with phomosphis unfortunately this fungicide is prohibited in CA however there are several trade products that contains azoxystrobin like Abound.

[raimeiken]

wow quite pricey too looking around online at other products with the same active ingredient. I have Agri-fos, I wonder if that alone will work 

[shaneatwell]

I'm trying Infuse (propiconozole) which was recommend in another forum and I can get in CA.

[simon_grow]

JF, your memory is incredible. I do remember now that you mention it. I wonder if trees grafted onto Lavern Manilla or other specific rootstocks will impart disease resistance?

Shane, it is still best to send out a sample to get it analyzed so you know exactly what it is. The bottom portion of your LZ still looks healthy so it can still recover. I get wounds that leak sap when the weather gets cold. The product JF mentioned sounds promising.

Simon

[shaneatwell]

I can dig it out of the green bin. Who do I send it to?

I checked out that strobin. Super expensive. Also although its isolated from the same fungus (fungal anti-fungual, pretty funny) its not chemically similar at all to the banned strobin.

Edit: I dug out the wood from the bin. Cut it into 2 inch pieces. Strangely there were long sections between the top and that sap exuduing part that had no dark patches. Too small to see or would the infection have entered in multiple places?

[simon_grow]

Im not sure whom to send the sample to, probably best to hit up the USDA and find out. It does look like it a fungal problem so a systemic fungicide should work but I would be extremely curious to find out exactly what organism it is.

Simon